257 Gone For Three Years
Selma Payne’s POV:
In short, after we calmed down, we were all a little embarrassed.
Aldrich did not dare to look at me, although he firmly held my hand. He stared intently at the murals on the temple as if he had suddenly developed a great interest in art. His face was as red as a tomato. I felt that I should break the silence in case he dug a hole and buried himself in it.
“So… you just said ‘my believers’?”
Aldrich was finally willing to look at me, even though it was just a glance before he shyly looked away.
‘Yes.” He nodded. “Your believers, your kin, your servants, and your friends.”
“Don’t say that. It’s really weird,” I said with a wry smile. “But you already know that you’ve become my followers? I remember not having time to say anything before I fainted.”
“Needless to say, it’s a sense of belonging that comes from the soul. The moment we were reborn, we knew our identities, and from this, we couldn’t help but have feelings of admiration and longing. Our god’s kin will forever love and be loyal to you until they disappear from the world.”
“But I’d only been a god for a minute, and now I’m just a mortal. Will you still have this feeling?”
“This has nothing to do with your current identity. The moment you gave us new life, all the contracts were completed. The contract will never fade whether you are a god or a mortal.”
“Alright, it’s quite romantic…”
I wanted to leave the bed and walk around since the doctor said my body was fine. There were still many inconveniences in the initial fusion of the soul and the body. I intuitively felt I needed to exercise more to eliminate these side effects.
After seeing that, he helped me walk around the temple. No matter how slow I was, I should know the place I was in.
“So, this is my temple?”
“Yes,” he said with a smile. “Funded by the royal family, supplemented by the donations and help of the believers, the temple was built in three months. Every detail is the crystallization of the thoughts of the believers and craftsmen, condensing the sincere blessings and piety.”
I could feel the strong love and faith in the murals and carvings. Although I was no longer a god, these precious feelings didn’t change because of my identity.
“So I was unconscious for at least three months?” I asked.
Aldrich shook his head and said in a slightly depressed tone, No, you were unconscious for three years. Many things happened in these three years, and you are already twenty-two.”
What?
I looked at him in disbelief, hoping this was a harmless joke.
“Three years?”
The most precious three years of youth were wasted in my muddleheaded sleep from nineteen to twenty-two.
I’d missed out on my entire university life!
I’d missed out on the lives of my family and friends!
I’d missed three graduation balls!
“No,” Aldrich corrected. “To be precise, it was two terms. There are still two months before your fourth year ends. The graduation exam has been completed, but the graduation party has yet to start.”
I didn’t understand how he could be so calm. “But I’ve skipped three whole years of classes! I’ll be expelled. I’ll be the first princess in the royal family to be expelled from school!”
“Hey, hey, calm down, dear.”
Aldrich carried me and ran back to the bed, whispering, “It’s not that serious. The King and Queen have announced to the public that you went to a closed training camp in Europe as an exchange student for some reason, and all your homework was tacitly agreed to be completed there. So, you won’t drop out of college, and you won’t be expelled. You’ll get your graduation certificate on the day of the graduation ceremony.”
“Is this okay?” I felt a little guilty. “I didn’t attend any classes. Isn’t that a little unfair to the others?”
“It’s just that you didn’t learn those things in school. The private tutors that the King and Queen hired for you should have handed over all the university courses to you within a few months, right? You went to school because His Majesty doesn’t want you to be separated from the secular life and develop a high and mighty character.”
“I understand.” Indeed, I had already completed my undergraduate course under the tutelage of my home tutor, so I didn’t have to worry about this anymore.
We leaned on the bed and chatted quietly for a while. Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door of the temple.
“Your Holy Highness,” Kara’s trembling voice came from outside the door. “May your servant, Kara, have the honor of meeting you?”
It was Kara, my dear head handmaid!
“Of course!” I ran out of bed excitedly and into Kara’s arms. “My dear Kara, are you okay? I miss you so much!”
“I missed you too, my dear little princess.”
Kara gently hugged me with red eyes.
“I’ve prayed every night for the past three years, thanking you for everything. You’ve finally returned.”
I was very attached to this woman who had cared for me like an elder, and I felt even more guilty. “I’m sorry I slept for so long.”
“No, it’s not your fault. We are the useless ones.” Kara gently wiped her tears. “You must be too tired to take responsibility and move forward alone. If you’re tired, you should have a good sleep. When you wake up, everything will be over.”
Kara told me that my parents were rushing here. She had been caring for me for the past three years, so she lived near the temple. That was why she could come so quickly.
